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Cameras to be Added for Security at Pella High School

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At their recent meeting, the Pella School Board approved the purchase of security cameras for the High School complex. The cameras would be the first of their kind in the district, and Pella Schools Superintendent Mark Wittmer says had become a necessity for the district.

“Obviously safety has become a big issue for all schools, and I fully anticipate there probably will be a time in which we’ve got to do this for all of our buildings, but the biggest concern right now with all the traffic that we’ve got and with parking lots and things like that is at the High School,” said Wittmer. “So we’re going to be putting some security cameras in the parking lots, as well as in the hallways.”

Cameras will focus on the parking lot, as well as the bus parking area and at strategic locations inside the school. Wittmer says security was an issue of growing importance for the district.

“With all the things that have happened in and around schools, it’s just an area that we have to be more concerned about, and we have to be doing what we can to protect our kids,” adds Wittmer. “It’s not an issue that we like to do – I hate to have to spend money on something like this – but at the same time, we want to make sure that we’re able to protect the people that are entrusted to us by the parents of this community.”

The security equipment cost roughly $16,500 and was purchased through the use of Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) funds, which do not come from the school’s general fund.